Tooth brush holder



April 28, 1936. E. H. KOCH TOOTH BRUSH HOLDER Filed Jan. 13, 1934 H R wK mH N m A w D 7 5 Patented flpri UNITED. STATES*PATENT room navsn 1101mm mm H. Koch, ma... my. e Application January 13, 1934, Serial No. 706,519

.7 (c1. sis-112m My invention relates to as'anitary, antiseptic container, de i ned to be attached asa fixture to the wall of a bath or other room for the reception' of toothbrushes. v

One of the principal obiects 0! my invention has been to provide a device of this nature in which a number of brushes maybe conveniently held in such manner as to be protected from dust, offensive odors, and impurities of various kinds, and to preserve them in a clean, dry, sterile condition when the brushes are not in use. i

Another object has been to provide a device which will not only be attractive in" appearance and'convenient to use, but one which may be readily cleansed, v I e v Another object has been to provide a devicein which toothbrushes of any size may be held.

A further object has been to provide a device having separate compartments ior'each brush and also to provide a centrally'arran'ged antiseptic holder which shall be in communication with each of the toothbrush compartments.

Moreover, my invention comprises a flexible,

disc at the bottom of the device'having openings through which the brushes may be conveniently passed, such disc being held in place partly by engagement therewith of suitable lugs carried by .the base of the device.

Furthermore, it has been an obiect to produce a device of relatively few parts, but arranged in such manner that they may be very readily def tached for cleansing and thereafter easily reassembled.

Moreover, my device is designed that adequate ventilation is provided for, so that the brushes will'be properly dried out. v

The above objects and advantages have been accomplished by the device'shown in the accom panying drawing, of which: Fig. 1 shows a side, sectional elevation of my device taken on line ll of Fig. 2.

Fig.2 is a" plan, sectional view, taken on line 2-2 of Fig. l with portions thereof broken away.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view; somewhatreduced.

of the partition element of my device.

disc of my device.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view of one form of My device comprises'a wall bracket Shaving a bracket arm I which carries an annular ring member 6, the ring member and bracket support being preferably integral. Thebracket is formed with a base a having suitable holes for them-'- sertion of attaching screws. The bracket "may bemade of any suitable material but preferably ilt as awhichmay-be readily kept clean.

The annular ring member is formed with a sufflcient number of inwardly radiating arms 8 which are joined together and to the bracket arm 1 at the center of the ring member, and these arms together with the bracket arm provide a 5 center support for a vial 35, hereinafter described, and also provide the desired number of brush spaces; The ring memberis'also formed with a, an annular recess l0, thus providing an annular supporting surface" I I. v p '10 The device is provided with a casing or cover element i5 which fits downintc the recess 1 II- and 'is preierably secured to the ring element 8 by means of two oppositely arranged bayonet joints IS. The casing ispreferably semi-spherical on 15' the top, as shown, and ventilation is provided for by means of acentrally arranged aperture 11.

Between the supportingsurface Ii and the bottom of the casing I! there is arranged a disc be arranged opposite the spaces between the 25 bracket arm' land the radiating arms 9. Each of these openings is substantially of such size and'shapethat it'willflt about the handle of a toothbrush and besubstantially closed when the toothbrush'is in place. It must, however, be caso pable of enlargement asthe brush is inserted up and'down through theopening, and for this reason I providea number of radiating slots 23, one running preferably from each corner of the diamond and one from the side of each of the 35 3 walls midway between the'corner's. These slots may terminate in small openings 24 to reduce the tendency to tearing or splitting of the material at the end of the'slots'. By this arrangement,

a pluralityof inwardly extended tabs 25 are pro- 40' vided whichare easily forced inwardly or outwardly as the bristles of the-brush are through the disc. The'openings are so positioned" that they will guide the brushes in such a'manner that the bristles thereof will not come in 46 contact with the ring'memberl or the arms 9 or I'. r Y

My device is provided with a partition unit 22,

whereby the space within the cover is divided into anumber of toothbrush compartments; This '50 a partition unit is designed to ilt within the casingor cover and to have its edges substantially conttact with the wall thereof. The device shown in the accompanying drawing is "made for in connection withfour brushes, and, thereforeffour u brush compartments are provided by means of the four radiating walls ll of the partition unit. These walls have their upper edges curved to fit the semi-spherical inner surface of the casing and the bottom surfaces are brought into engagement 'with the disc 20 substantially in registration with arms I of the ring member and bracket arm 1. The parts are so proportioned that the lower edge of the casing and the lower edges of the partition unit will help to retain the flexible disc 20 in place. To further 'assurethat the flexible disc will be properly retained in place as the brushes are passed through the openings of the disc, I provide a pair of interspaced anchoring lugs 3|, carried by each of the arms 9 and the bracket arm I and arranged at a point thereon which is slightly within the inner periphery of the casing when in place. These lugs have vertlcally arranged faces 32 which are preferably at right angles to thedisc and with curve shaped faces II connecting the top edge of the lug with the arm,.as clearly shown in Fig. 1. The disc is provided with openings 34 which engage with these lugs and which keep the materials stretched taut across from one side of the device to the other as there is a tendency to stretch it by reason of the passageof the brush through one of the holes. vThe straight sides or surfaces 32,

being oppositely arranged, will prevent the rubber from being pulled oi! of the lugs. The lugs, as well as providing for the holding of the flexible disc 2'0 in place, also function as stopsfo'r the walls of the partition unit thus assuring that the compartments formed by such walls will not change their position in relation to the openings of the disc. The space between the lugs is such thatone of the radiating walls willflt between each pair and thus prevent the partition unit from becoming displaced. The partition unit may be made of any material which is readily cleansed,

and I preferably use glass or cellulose composition. Instead of making it of one piece, as is preferable, I may flnd it convenient to form it of two interlocked pieces.

I provide in my device a centrally arranged antiseptic holder 35 which may be. in'the form of a glass vial containing a s'uitableantiseptic or disinfectant. If desired, an, absorbent material 80, such as, for instance, absorbent cotton, may be used in the vial for holding the antiseptic or disinfectant. The vial is, .of course, open at its upper end and it is supported in the center of the ring member and held in registering position by means of holding lugs'fl. One of these lugs is carried by each of the radiating arms 9 and the bracket. arm I and has its inner surface It curved to iit the vial. These lugs are also passed through suitable apertures ll formed in the disc and they also aid in holding the disc in place. Thepartitlon unit is cut away at its center so as to provide arecess ll for the reception of the vial ii and a further recess It is provided for pause-over the holding lugs 11. The flt between these parts is made as snug-as is consistent with the material'being used, and e ofany appreciable amount of airirom one of the brush compartments to the other is thus prevented. The radiating walls of the partition, being rd atively narrow, as shown in Fig. l, the top of the vial will beopento all four compartments.

In the drawing, l have shown the partition unit and easing or cover, as well as the vial, as made of glass, since this material is highly suitable from a sanitarystandpoint, but it is obvious that, if desired, I may use any other suitable material which can be formed into shape by molding, or casting, or spinning, or pressing, or the like.

From the foregoing, it will be obvious that any one or more of the brushes may be easily and quickly withdrawn from its compartment or placed therein by passage of the bristles through the diamond shaped opening 2| of the flexible disc, and that, furthermore, there is substantially no communication between the brush compartments, whereby each of the brushes is kept separate and .distinct from the other brushes. Since the slots 23 and small openings 24, as well as any space between the walls of the diamond shaped opening 2| and the sides of the brush handle, admits air into the compartment, such air will be circulated up through the compartment, around the bristles of the brush contained therein, and will pass out through the centrally arranged opening i1. Since this opening is also larger than the width of the radiating walls 30 of the partition unit, such opening will bring each of the compartments of my device into communication with the exterior air.

It is also clear from the foregoing that my device comprises but relatively few parts, and when it is desired to clean the device, it is only necessary that the casing it be removed by being given a slight rotative movement tounlock the bayonet joint it, after which the partition may be removed-including the vial for easy cleansing. The flexible disc ill may be easily removed by lifting it from the base and off from the lugs II and 31 and cleaned by sterilizing or in any other suitable manner.

In Fig. 4, I show a disc of such size that it will not extend underneath the casing, the lugs 3| being sufficient to hold the disc in place without the aid of the casing. Such a modification is within the scope of the appended claims.

Obviously, other modifications of the details herein shown and described may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of the appended claims, and I do not, therefore, wish to be limited to the exact embodiment herein shown and described, the form shown being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A toothbrush holder comprising a bracket having a ring member, a casing carried by the bracket, a flexible disc carried by the bracket and having formed therein a plurality of brush openings, a centrally arranged antiseptic vial within the casing, and holding lugs carried by the bracket for the vial, said holding lugs being arranged around the central axis of the bracket, said disc being formed with openings engageable with said holding lugs, whereby the disc will be held in place, the casing being provided with a centrally arranged opening, whereby the same is ventilated.

2. A toothbrush holder comprising a bracket having a ringmember, a casing carried by the bracket, a flexible disc carried by the bracket and having formed therein aplurality of brush openings, a plurality of anchoring lugs carried by the bracket, a centrally arranged antiseptic vial within the casing, and holding lugs carried by 3. A toothbrush holder comprising a into a plurality oi chambers,'and a plurality oi' anchoring lugs carried by the-bracket and en-L gageable with apertures formed in the disc, said walls being engageablewith the anchoring lugs in such manner that the walls yill'fbe fixedj against relative rotation with respect tome-openings of the disc, the top of the casing being sub-j stantially semi -spherical and provided with a cent-g tral opening whereby all of the compartments I ventilated.

4. A toothbrush holder comprising a bracket having a ring member, a casing carnedbylthe bracket, a flexible disc arranged between the ring member and the casing and having formed therein a plurality of brush openings, a partition unit mounted upon the disc and within the casing for dividing the casing into a plurality of chambers equal in number to the openings inthe disc, and an antiseptic vial carried at the center of the ring member and having its upper end in communication with all of the compartments of the device, the upper end of the casing beim semispherical in form and shape and formed with a centrally arranged opening communicating with each of the chambers.

5. A toothbrush holder comprising a bracket having a ring member, a casing carried by the bracket, a flexible disc arranged between the ring' member and the casing and having formed therein a plurality of brush openings, a partition unit mounted upon the disc and within the casing for dividing the easing into a pluality of chambers equal in number to the openings in the disc, an antiseptic vial carried at the center of the ring member and having its upper end in communication with all oi! the compartments of the device, and holding lugs carried by the bracket for holding the vial in position, the upper end of the I casing being formed with a centrally arranged opening communicating with each of the chambers.

6. A tooth brush holder comprising a bracket havinga ring member, a casing carried by the bracket, a flexible disc arranged between the ring member and the casing and having formed therein a plurality of brush openings, a partition unit mounted upon the disc and within the casing for dividing the easing into a plurality, of chambers equal in-number to the openings in the disc, an

9 member and having its upper end in communica- ,tionwvith the compartments of the device, and

holding lugs carried by the bracket'for holding the vial in position, the partition element being provided with centrally arranged recesses for the accommodation of the antiseptic vial and the holding lugs, the upper end'ot the casing being semi-spherical in form and shape and formed -with a centrally arranged opening communicating with each 01 the chambers.

7. A toothbrush holder comprising a bracket having a ring member, a casing carried by the bracket, a flexible disc arranged between the ring member and the casing and having formed there- .in a plurality of brush openings, a centrally armodation and support of the antiseptic vial, the

casing being provided with a centrally arranged opening, whereby all the chambers are ventilated.

' EDWARD H. KOCH, 

